Saturday, August 12, 2006

PALM HARBOR, Fla. - William Fogarty doesn't understand the fuss. He just forgot to pay a parking ticket. When he finally realized it, the 86-year-old retiree made good and mailed in a money order, to pay a $1 ticket he got 60 years ago.

Fogarty got the ticket in Norfolk, Va., in May 1946. Soon after, he bought a $1 money order to pay the fine but forgot to send it in. About a month ago, as he was looking through a box of collectibles from his Navy days, Fogarty discovered a wallet with the money order inside.

So he wrote a letter to the Norfolk Police Department and includedthe money order.

"At my age, when I go out of here, I don't want to owe anyone a dime,"he told the St. Petersburg Times.

Fogarty's money order will not be cashed, Norfolk police Officer Chris Amos said. Instead, it will be framed and displayed in the department's museum.

"It's one of those restoring your faith in mankind things," Amos said.